Does the World Need a New Kayak?

In the already diverse world of paddlesports, does the world really need a new kayak? Tim Niemier, who introduced the sit-on-top kayak to the masses in the 70’s and 80’s through his company Ocean Kayak, thinks it does.

Tim and I are launching Swell Watercraft, and introducing this new kayak in Spring.

Tim called his original plastic boat the “Scupper” because it had little holes that drained the seat area. Suddenly, kayaks didn’t have to fill up with water if they flipped over! This kayak changed the sport forever.

Other kayak companies quickly built these new “sit-on-top” kayaks, and instead of gaining a reputation for safety, the Scupper became known for it’s performance. The original sit-on-top was also the ‘go-to’ sit-on-top in the world’s toughest ocean environments.

When the model was finally discontinued in 2011, it caused a stir amongst devotees. The kayak was quickly duplicated on two different continents, and today exact copies of the Ocean Kayak Scupper are shipped into the USA from France.

Niemier, with myself as his partner, is building the next great sit-on-top kayak with the Scupper as our muse. It’s 14 feet long, 26” wide and has some game-changing new features.

It has a totally new hull and deck. We consulted with an ergonomics team to make this the most comfortable, high performance SOT ever. It’s fast, stable, and breaks through surf better than anything on the market. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention our new Scupper provides a superior fishing experience.

How can one kayak do all these things at the same time? Sound too good to be true? We’re not ready to show all our cards just yet. We’ll be slowly rolling out the new design at https://www.facebook.com/Swellwatercraft/. Please submit any inquiries you might have to our page.